West Bend will stay with two high schools, one building

(WEST BEND)-- In a unanimous vote, the West Bend Board of education will keep their unique system of two high schools housed in one building.

West Bend West and West Bend East each have roughly 12-hundred students, and share common space like an auditorium, gym complex, and music department. The \"twin school\" system has been in place since 1970, but once every several years the idea of combining comes up, since many parents think a bigger school will mean better sports teams. A combined West Bend would be the largest high school in the state of Wisconsin.

Other parents like the two-school system for athletics, because with separate programs for each school, it gives more kids the opportunity to play.

Citing a survey that showed roughly three-fourths of West Bend residents support the current configuration, the board voted down a proposal to combine the West and East Monday night. The Board of Education is also expected to change their policies in the coming weeks to make it more difficult for this issue to come up again. Many residents think having this argument once every several years is not healthy for the community.